Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2014

Beneficiaries Who Have Filed for Workers' Compensation or Public Disability Benefits

Notes

In December 2014, approximately 527,000 disabled workers on the Social Security Disability Insurance program had filed for workers' compensation or public disability benefits. Disability payments from private sources, such as private pension or insurance benefits, do not affect Social Security disability benefits, but workers' compensation and other public disability benefits may reduce them. Workers' compensation is paid to a worker because of a job-related injury or illness. It may be paid by federal or state workers' compensation agencies or employers or by insurance companies on behalf of employers.

Other public disability benefits that may affect Social Security disability benefits are those paid by a federal, state, or local government for disabling medical conditions that are not job related. Examples are civil service disability benefits, military disability benefits, state temporary disability benefits, and state or local government retirement benefits that are based on disability. Persons who receive Social Security disability benefits and one of the following types of public benefits will not have their Social Security disability benefit reduced:

Veterans Administration benefits;
State and local government benefits, if Social Security taxes were deducted from earnings; or
Supplemental Security Income.

The total amount received from workers' compensation or other public disability benefits and Social Security disability benefits cannot exceed 80 percent of the worker's average current earnings before he or she became disabled. The monthly Social Security disability benefit includes benefits payable to family members. If the total amount of these benefits exceeds 80 percent of average current earnings, the excess amount is deducted from the Social Security benefit. The benefit will be reduced until the month the worker reaches age 65 or the month the other benefits stop, whichever comes first.

Example

Before becoming disabled, the worker's average current earnings were $4,000 a month. The disabled worker, his or her spouse, and their two children would be eligible to receive a total of $2,200 a month in Social Security disability benefits. However, the disabled worker also receives $2,000 a month from workers' compensation. Because the total amount of benefits received ($4,200) is more than $3,200 (80 percent of average current earnings), the family's Social Security disability benefits will be reduced by $1,000.

Chart 7. Distribution of workers, by diagnostic group and sex, December 2014

Among disabled workers who are also receiving workers' compensation or public disability benefits, a disease of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue was the primary diagnosis in December 2014. Mental disorders were the second leading disabling condition. A disorder of the nervous system and sense organs was the third most common disability for women. Injuries were the third most common disability for men. All other impairments were fairly evenly split between men and women.

Show as table

Table equivalent for Chart 7. Distribution of workers, by diagnostic group and sex, December 2014 (percent)
Diagnostic group	Men	Women
Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases	1.4	2.1
Injuries	8.2	4.2
Mental disorders	14.7	19.7
Circulatory system	3.7	2.1
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue	61.9	58.9
Nervous system and sense organs	4.6	7.2
All other impairments	5.6	6.0

SOURCE: Table 34.

Table 31. Distribution of workers and dependents who have filed, by reason for having or not having an offset, December 2014
Reason	Total		Workers		Spouses and children
Reason	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
All disabled beneficiaries and dependents	651,212	100.0	526,744	100.0	124,468	100.0
	With offset
Receipt of—
Workers' compensation only
Black Lung	486	0.1	338	0.1	148	0.1
Harbor Workers and Longshoremen	554	0.1	411	0.1	143	0.1
Federal employees	3,477	0.5	2,794	0.5	683	0.5
State	97,532	15.0	70,506	13.4	27,026	21.7
Public disability only
Federal	1,225	0.2	1,080	0.2	145	0.1
State	7,960	1.2	6,750	1.3	1,210	1.0
Local	503	0.1	380	0.1	123	0.1
Workers' compensation and public disability	527	0.1	447	0.1	80	0.1
Social Security Disability Insurance (reverse offset)	52,569	8.1	42,707	8.1	9,862	7.9
	Without offset
High average current earnings	393,565	60.4	324,728	61.6	68,837	55.3
Entitlement to workers' compensation or public disability benefits is pending	92,814	14.3	76,603	14.5	16,211	13.0
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Workers' Compensation and Public Disability Benefit file, 100 percent data.
CONTACT: (410) 965-0090 or statistics@ssa.gov.

Table 32. Distribution of workers and dependents who have filed, by state or other area of residence, December 2014
State or area	Total		Workers		Spouses and children
State or area	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
All areas	651,212	100.0	526,744	100.0	124,468	100.0
Alabama	12,069	1.9	9,452	1.8	2,617	2.1
Alaska	454	0.1	383	0.1	71	0.1
Arizona	8,138	1.2	6,687	1.3	1,451	1.2
Arkansas	5,780	0.9	4,557	0.9	1,223	1.0
California	85,621	13.1	72,885	13.8	12,736	10.2
Colorado	7,624	1.2	6,370	1.2	1,254	1.0
Connecticut	5,522	0.8	4,438	0.8	1,084	0.9
Delaware	1,744	0.3	1,442	0.3	302	0.2
District of Columbia	317	(L)	276	0.1	41	(L)
Florida	33,536	5.1	27,491	5.2	6,045	4.9
Georgia	21,950	3.4	17,644	3.3	4,306	3.5
Hawaii	1,671	0.3	1,381	0.3	290	0.2
Idaho	2,155	0.3	1,755	0.3	400	0.3
Illinois	17,737	2.7	14,003	2.7	3,734	3.0
Indiana	4,772	0.7	3,796	0.7	976	0.8
Iowa	4,514	0.7	3,635	0.7	879	0.7
Kansas	3,380	0.5	2,763	0.5	617	0.5
Kentucky	16,786	2.6	13,353	2.5	3,433	2.8
Louisiana	9,809	1.5	7,548	1.4	2,261	1.8
Maine	5,515	0.8	4,548	0.9	967	0.8
Maryland	4,713	0.7	3,945	0.7	768	0.6
Massachusetts	16,764	2.6	13,067	2.5	3,697	3.0
Michigan	34,555	5.3	27,563	5.2	6,992	5.6
Minnesota	7,681	1.2	6,367	1.2	1,314	1.1
Mississippi	6,561	1.0	5,041	1.0	1,520	1.2
Missouri	11,360	1.7	9,283	1.8	2,077	1.7
Montana	2,272	0.3	1,927	0.4	345	0.3
Nebraska	1,891	0.3	1,493	0.3	398	0.3
Nevada	3,700	0.6	3,115	0.6	585	0.5
New Hampshire	3,906	0.6	3,095	0.6	811	0.7
New Jersey	15,743	2.4	12,297	2.3	3,446	2.8
New Mexico	3,488	0.5	2,869	0.5	619	0.5
New York	81,903	12.6	64,778	12.3	17,125	13.8
North Carolina	22,745	3.5	18,487	3.5	4,258	3.4
North Dakota	722	0.1	604	0.1	118	0.1
Ohio	15,260	2.3	12,748	2.4	2,512	2.0
Oklahoma	6,939	1.1	5,737	1.1	1,202	1.0
Oregon	6,197	1.0	5,190	1.0	1,007	0.8
Pennsylvania	38,967	6.0	30,842	5.9	8,125	6.5
Rhode Island	2,923	0.4	2,389	0.5	534	0.4
South Carolina	14,433	2.2	11,501	2.2	2,932	2.4
South Dakota	904	0.1	723	0.1	181	0.1
Tennessee	14,600	2.2	11,643	2.2	2,957	2.4
Texas	12,459	1.9	9,849	1.9	2,610	2.1
Utah	1,711	0.3	1,345	0.3	366	0.3
Vermont	1,112	0.2	903	0.2	209	0.2
Virginia	10,565	1.6	8,471	1.6	2,094	1.7
Washington	12,327	1.9	10,301	2.0	2,026	1.6
West Virginia	6,298	1.0	5,041	1.0	1,257	1.0
Wisconsin	7,354	1.1	5,904	1.1	1,450	1.2
Wyoming	531	0.1	412	0.1	119	0.1
Outlying areas
Puerto Rico	30,161	4.6	24,373	4.6	5,788	4.7
Other ^a	155	(L)	99	(L)	56	(L)
Foreign countries	1,218	0.2	935	0.2	283	0.2
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Workers' Compensation and Public Disability Benefit file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Distribution is by state or other area of residence, not by the state paying benefits.
(L) = less than 0.05 percent.
a. Includes American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands.
CONTACT: (410) 965-0090 or statistics@ssa.gov.

Table 33. Distribution of workers who have filed, by diagnostic group and age, December 2014
Diagnostic group	Total, all ages	Under 35	35–39	40–44	45–49	50–54	55–59	60–64
	Number
Total	526,744	5,158	10,387	23,845	49,253	101,255	161,104	175,742
Congenital anomalies	252	5	11	18	27	53	65	73
Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases	8,583	48	102	267	683	1,512	2,638	3,333
Infectious and parasitic diseases	3,370	25	68	126	374	755	991	1,031
Injuries	35,014	715	1,117	2,025	3,651	6,617	10,009	10,880
Mental disorders
Autistic disorders	44	9	3	6	4	7	9	6
Developmental disorders	90	4	1	5	14	25	19	22
Childhood and adolescent disorders not elsewhere classified	77	4	2	9	8	14	21	19
Intellectual disability	4,565	79	97	241	643	1,043	1,267	1,195
Mood disorders	52,446	620	1,277	2,931	6,034	10,947	14,892	15,745
Organic mental disorders	11,439	243	375	735	1,307	2,325	3,162	3,292
Schizophrenic and other psychotic disorders	6,328	189	262	458	807	1,334	1,762	1,516
Other	11,491	309	433	809	1,442	2,453	3,019	3,026
Neoplasms	5,766	119	128	244	498	1,042	1,761	1,974
Diseases of the—
Blood and blood-forming organs	366	14	18	20	40	66	104	104
Circulatory system	16,091	88	169	418	969	2,474	4,970	7,003
Digestive system	2,976	36	56	130	234	582	900	1,038
Genitourinary system	2,667	103	112	197	319	574	699	663
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue	321,162	1,977	5,111	13,020	27,897	61,194	101,881	110,082
Nervous system and sense organs	29,294	457	787	1,611	3,101	5,656	8,472	9,210
Respiratory system	6,987	28	74	174	439	1,113	2,249	2,910
Skin and subcutaneous tissue	559	8	14	30	57	119	163	168
Other	531	10	10	32	48	93	164	174
Unknown	6,646	68	160	339	657	1,257	1,887	2,278
	Percent
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Congenital anomalies	(L)	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	(L)	(L)
Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases	1.6	0.9	1.0	1.1	1.4	1.5	1.6	1.9
Infectious and parasitic diseases	0.6	0.5	0.7	0.5	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.6
Injuries	6.6	13.9	10.8	8.5	7.4	6.5	6.2	6.2
Mental disorders
Autistic disorders	(L)	0.2	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)
Developmental disorders	(L)	0.1	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)
Childhood and adolescent disorders not elsewhere classified	(L)	0.1	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)
Intellectual disability	0.9	1.5	0.9	1.0	1.3	1.0	0.8	0.7
Mood disorders	10.0	12.0	12.3	12.3	12.3	10.8	9.2	9.0
Organic mental disorders	2.2	4.7	3.6	3.1	2.7	2.3	2.0	1.9
Schizophrenic and other psychotic disorders	1.2	3.7	2.5	1.9	1.6	1.3	1.1	0.9
Other	2.2	6.0	4.2	3.4	2.9	2.4	1.9	1.7
Neoplasms	1.1	2.3	1.2	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.1	1.1
Diseases of the—
Blood and blood-forming organs	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Circulatory system	3.1	1.7	1.6	1.8	2.0	2.4	3.1	4.0
Digestive system	0.6	0.7	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.6
Genitourinary system	0.5	2.0	1.1	0.8	0.6	0.6	0.4	0.4
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue	61.0	38.3	49.2	54.6	56.6	60.4	63.2	62.6
Nervous system and sense organs	5.6	8.9	7.6	6.8	6.3	5.6	5.3	5.2
Respiratory system	1.3	0.5	0.7	0.7	0.9	1.1	1.4	1.7
Skin and subcutaneous tissue	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Other	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Unknown	1.3	1.3	1.5	1.4	1.3	1.2	1.2	1.3
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Workers' Compensation and Public Disability Benefit file, 100 percent data.
NOTE: (L) = less than 0.05 percent.
CONTACT: (410) 965-0090 or statistics@ssa.gov.

Table 34. Distribution of workers who have filed, by diagnostic group and sex, December 2014
Diagnostic group	Total		Men		Women
Diagnostic group	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
All disabled workers	526,744	100.0	320,575	100.0	206,169	100.0
Congenital anomalies	252	(L)	126	(L)	126	0.1
Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases	8,583	1.6	4,374	1.4	4,209	2.0
Infectious and parasitic diseases	3,370	0.6	2,697	0.8	673	0.3
Injuries	35,014	6.6	26,250	8.2	8,764	4.3
Mental disorders
Autistic disorders	44	(L)	33	(L)	11	(L)
Developmental disorders	90	(L)	59	(L)	31	(L)
Childhood and adolescent disorders not elsewhere classified	77	(L)	47	(L)	30	(L)
Intellectual disability	4,565	0.9	3,462	1.1	1,103	0.5
Mood disorders	52,446	10.0	24,171	7.5	28,275	13.7
Organic mental disorders	11,439	2.2	8,538	2.7	2,901	1.4
Schizophrenic and other psychotic disorders	6,328	1.2	4,160	1.3	2,168	1.1
Other	11,491	2.2	6,026	1.9	5,465	2.7
Neoplasms	5,766	1.1	3,081	1.0	2,685	1.3
Diseases of the—
Blood and blood-forming organs	366	0.1	178	0.1	188	0.1
Circulatory system	16,091	3.1	11,876	3.7	4,215	2.0
Digestive system	2,976	0.6	1,884	0.6	1,092	0.5
Genitourinary system	2,667	0.5	1,786	0.6	881	0.4
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue	321,162	61.0	199,078	62.1	122,084	59.2
Nervous system and sense organs	29,294	5.6	14,565	4.5	14,729	7.1
Respiratory system	6,987	1.3	4,056	1.3	2,931	1.4
Skin and subcutaneous tissue	559	0.1	287	0.1	272	0.1
Other	531	0.1	240	0.1	291	0.1
Unknown	6,646	1.3	3,601	1.1	3,045	1.5
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Workers' Compensation and Public Disability Benefit file, 100 percent data.
NOTE: (L) = less than 0.05 percent.
CONTACT: (410) 965-0090 or statistics@ssa.gov.